Bridge Project is dedicated to exposing the conservative movement’s dishonest tactics, dismantling its extreme ideology, and shining light on the moneyed special interests that fund it.

Politicians & Pundits: Ron Johnson

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) just concluded that – even according to Republicans’ preferred scoring method – the Senate Republican tax plan would increase the national deficit by $1 trillion in order to cut taxes for the high income earners and corporations. These unaffordable tax cuts would be made possible by raising taxes on millions of middle class Americans.

At the same time, the Treasury Department study of the tax proposal’s economic effects that Sec. Steve Mnuchin has promised multiple times is still nowhere to be found.

“Congress’s independent tax experts just refuted one of the top promises that Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have made to the American people, proving that their reckless tax plan would explode the deficit by $1 trillion,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “This trickle-down sham would sell-out the American middle class with tax increases to allow new breaks for big money donors, […]

Politicians & Pundits

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after Sen. Ron Johnson outlined exactly why regular order should be chosen over the current frantic, reckless approach to passing a health care bill that America’s doctors, hospitals, and countless other nonpartisan medical experts are warning would ​cost millions of Americans their healthcare and slam Americans with preexisting conditions:

“Senator Johnson’s blueprint for what should happen if this Trumpcare bill fails is precisely what Senate Republicans should have done ​years ago – and it’s not too late to prevent ​a train-​w​reck of their own making​. If Senate Republicans actually held hearings and worked in a bipartisan fashion​,​ they would ​learn a great deal from the overwhelming majority of Americans who want them to improv​e​ the Affordable Care Act and abandon ​Trumpcare. They ought to take that approach instead of forcing this bill upon the country despite objections from countless experts and healthcare officials.”

Senate Republicans are attempting to push through the dangerous so-called health care bill that has not even been scored by the CBO. The analyses that are available, however, show that the Graham-Cassidy-Heller plan is even worse for the states than previous Republican bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It would cause 32 million Americans to lose their health care coverage, deeply cut Medicaid and other health care funding for states, eliminate or weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and increase out-of-pocket costs for tens of millions of Americans. The plan would also be disastrous for older Americans.

Issues

Politicians & Pundits

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after Senators Cassidy and Graham blatantly contradicted themselves in dishonest interviews promoting the Cassidy-Graham-Heller-Johnson Trumpcare bil​l:​

“Sens. Cassidy and Johnson have told so many lies about their Trumpcare bill that now they can’t even keep their story straight. As they flail to deceive the American people, independent health advocacy groups ranging from the American Medical Association to patient and provider organizations have already put out the truth: this bill would take insurance from 32 million Americans, cripple protections for people with preexisting conditions, send premiums up 20% next year, and kill 2.6 million jobs. That’s not spin, those are facts – and there’s no denying it.”

Video and Transcript with Reality Checks​:​
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CASSIDY

SEN. BILL CASSIDY: Under Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson, more people will have coverage.

Issues

Politicians & Pundits

To help bring transparency and accountability to Republicans’ latest dark-of-night attack against the American healthcare system, Bridge Project is releasing a new digital ad blitz targeting 6 Republican Senators, highlighting the excruciating impacts the Cassidy-Graham-Heller-Johnson legislation would have for average Americans and urging these Senators to vote against the bill.

With the backing of Donald Trump, Republicans in the Senate are rushing a bill that was written in secret by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) to the floor for a vote before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office can even determine what its full impact on American families would be. They are doing this because, as independent studies of the bill’s substance confirm, it would be a nonstarter with the American people. Polling shows all of the last Trumpcare attempts decisively rejected by the public – and Republicans want to keep […]

“Sen. Johnson is killing any chance to get re-elected if he keeps toeing the Republican Party line and ignoring his voters in an election year,” said Eddie Vale, the Vice President of American Bridge 21st Century. “‘Let the people’s voice be heard’ would be a lot more convincing if the people weren’t overwhelmingly shouting ‘Do Your Job, Sen. Johnson.’”